Position battles
Depth up front means a talented forward will be the odd man out on opening night as long as everyone is healthy. Forward Ryan Poehling will have to battle with newcomers Mathieu Perreault and Cedric Paquette, and Jake Evans, Joel Armia, Artturi Lehkonen for the final four spots up front with Paul Byron out recovering from hip surgery. On defense, Mattias Norlinder and Chris Wideman will push Alexander Romanov and Brett Kulak for the final two spots.
Most intriguing addition
Although he was acquired after Jesperi Kotkaniemi signed an offer sheet with the Carolina Hurricanes as a restricted free agent, Dvorak will help address several of the roles previously entrusted to Phillip Danault, who signed a six-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings on July 28. Dvorak's 52.1 face-off winning percentage last season was a slight drop from his 55.1 percent in 2019-20, but his success there as will his ability to play on special teams and his shootout success rate (4-for-4 last season), should help Montreal.
Biggest potential surprise
Drouin scored 23 points (two goals, 21 assists) in 44 games before leaving the team but could see those numbers increase this season under Ducharme, who coached him with Halifax of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League when he was named Canadian Major Junior Player of the Year in 2012-13. Drouin has scored 232 points (69 goals, 163 assists) in 393 regular-season games with the Lightning and Canadiens.
Ready to break through
Caufield gave the Canadiens a glimpse of what he's capable of last season, scoring his first two NHL goals in overtime in consecutive games. After sitting out the first two games of the postseason, the 20-year-old scored 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in 20 Stanley Cup Playoff games while forming chemistry with Suzuki.
Fantasy sleeper
Dvorak (fantasy average draft position: 165.0) has sneaky upside in late rounds with exposure to valuable wings like Hoffman, Drouin and Brendan Gallagher over the course of the season. Dvorak had the best goals (0.30) and points-per-game averages (0.55) of his NHL career last season and brings added appeal in fantasy leagues that include blocked shots (45 in 56 games). -- Pete Jensen
Projected lineup
Tyler Toffoli -- Nick Suzuki -- Cole Caufield
Jonathan Drouin -- Christian Dvorak -- Mike Hoffman
Josh Anderson -- Jake Evans -- Brendan Gallagher
Artturi Lehkonen -- Mathieu Perreault -- Joel Armia
Joel Edmundson -- Jeff Petry
Ben Chiarot -- David Savard
Alexander Romanov -- Brett Kulak
Carey Price
Jake Allen